The present invention relates generally to the field of disk drives. More specifically, the invention relates to systems, methods and devices for loading or unloading a data head on or from, respectively, a disk.
Disk drives, as may be found in computers and like devices, typically include one or more disks with a surface on which data may be written. The data can then be read from the same disk when retrieval of the data is desired. The reading and writing of the data is accomplished by a data head which can take the form of a transducer. A single transducer can read, write or both.
In order to read or write, the data head must be positioned slightly above the spinning disk with an air bearing between the data head and the disk surface. When not in use, the data head may be positioned off the disk and safely stowed so as not to contact and damage the disk surface.
When positioning the data head above the disk or removing the data head from the disk, there is a danger of contact with the disk surface and resulting damage to the disk and data. To avoid this result, most disks are provided with a landing zone along the perimeter of the disk. FIG. 1 illustrates one such disk. The disk 10 includes a usable portion 12 on which data may be written and a landing zone 14 along the perimeter. Thus, for loading of the data head, the data head is moved to the landing zone 14 to form the air bearing and subsequently moved to the desired region of the usable portion. Similarly, for unloading, the data head is moved to the landing zone 14 with the air bearing intact and then removed from the disk 10. However, this arrangement results in a large area of the surface of the disk 10 being rendered unusable by designation as a landing zone 14.